
Ozarks At Large

The Washington Regional Medical Center board of directors accepted an offer by the Fayetteville Public Library to purchase the former City Hospital property for $2 million. Arkansas's U.S. Senators are hopeful about passing a farm bill when Congress reconvenes next month. The state's new voter ID law is being implemented by the Arkansas Secretary of State's office. Siloam Springs joins the list of area cities holding a special sales tax election this year. And the Northwest Arkansas metro area makes another list, this time for being one of the top real estate markets for wellness and wealth in the country.
KUAF's Katy Henriksen recently traveled to Chicago for the annual Pitchfork Music Festival. Here's some of the sound she found there.


We get a peek at the new green roof on the University of Arkansas campus. It is visually pleasing, but also has practical implications.
Roby Brock talks to Kyle Kellams about possible political repercussions following the resignation of State Senator Paul Bookout.
Opposing sides give their views on the safety of oil pipelines. Central Park-Morning Star Elementary in Bentonville is named a 2012 National Blue Ribbon School, while the Sebastian County Quorum Court appoints members to the Hartford School Board. And the city of Fort Smith replaces a record number of sidewalks this year.


Latest Edition of Ozarks at Large
Friday, January 10, 2014
Ahead on this edition of Ozarks…the 2013 Northwest Arkansas Education Report Card has numbers, plenty of numbers, relating to 17 public school districts in Washington and Benton Counties. We'll talk to Gary Ritter, the director of the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas about the report. And the three-person band The Room Outside plays inside the Firmin-Garner Performance Studio. We'll also talk to Michael Tilley from The City Wire about the week’s news and Becca Martin Brown from Northwest Arkansas Newspapers about the upcoming weekend’s entertainment opportunities.
The musical Chicago opens tonight at Walton Arts Center and includes John O'Hurley in the cast.
In our monthly, music review segment, we listen to Greg Laswell's new album "I Was Going To Be An Astronaut."
The trial of former Arkansas Treasurer Martha Shoffner continued Friday with testimony via taped conversations from a bond broker who allegedly received much of the state's bond business after giving kickbacks to Shoffner. And a number of court-related entities in Arkansas are receiving less funding after a decline in court fee and fine collections.
"The Longer I Run" by Peter Bradley Adams
A Texas charter school management nonprofit, Responsive Education Solutions, had been gaining a financial stake in Arkansas—until a complaint filed to the Arkansas Department of Education revealed its science curriculum advances intelligent design. As Jacqueline Froelich reports, the controversy raises questions regarding charter authorization.
Roby Brock discusses the retirement of Baptist Health System's CEO, the passage of the private option and more in his weekly business and political news recap.